Kristina Shahzadeyan – Stelloire

Growing up in a tourist-oriented country like Greece, it was only natural that I wanted to be part of the thriving world of hospitality. I was always fascinated by different cultures, meeting new people, sharing stories, and learning new languages. My studies began at the University of East Anglia in the UK, where I graduated with a 1st class BA in Intercultural Communication with Business Management. During that time, I specialized in communication and marketing through multiple intensive London based internships in the field. Wanting to apply my undergraduate degree further into the hospitality industry, I continued my studies at Glion Institute of Higher Education, a well renowned Swiss university recognized as one of the world’s best hospitality management schools. I mastered the art of hospitality through practical, hands-on learning as well as first-hand experience from visits to leading brands and talks from industry experts. Upon graduation, I completed the Management Training Program at London’s Number 1 High Tech Hotel, Eccleston Square Hotel, gaining vital experience in all departments and afterward continued to work at several other marketing agencies. My time there proved that in the ever-growing digital world, there was a great opportunity to enhance hotels’ marketing strategy as social media is a new trend, with a large portion of the hospitality industry still catching up. Therefore, when the opportunity to join Stelloire, a Hotel Digital Marketing Agency based in London arose, I was excited and eager to put both my marketing and hospitality skills to use in order to promote the image of hotels worldwide. My knowledge of 6 languages in combination with my education and experience was the key to overseeing our operations team, as well as conducting business development and entering new markets. Today, I am the Regional Director of Stelloire, running our international office in Greece, and aiming to open an office in Armenia in the near future. There is no better day than today to allow us to forge your place in the social realm and with just a few clicks deliver modern travelers from all over the world to your doorstep.

What services does your company offer to the customers?

Our number one service is Social Media Marketing (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter) through the creation of social media strategies to reach a hotel’s target audiences, distinguishing it from its competitors and improving its client conversion rates. Essentially this entails marketing campaigns that align with the hotel’s marketing plan, strategic content creation (photography/videography/captions), organic account growth to increase brand awareness, and above all, community management. Consumers now desire a more personal connection – we fulfill that need by connecting and interacting with a hotel’s audience to create a dynamic community of loyal and engaged followers.
We also manage Online Reputation by actively responding to all guest reviews on all platforms (TripAdvisor, Booking, Expedia, etc.) and bringing the most important ones to the client’s attention. In addition to taking over the social media accounts, other services we offer are content creation (photography/videography, email marketing, blogging), digital design, or hospitality consulting to support a hotel in its overarching objectives. Finally, our team designs and develop websites for hotels. We work directly with the client to design the website from scratch and make sure it fits with the hotel’s image and is user-friendly to attract more direct bookings.

Can you give us some insights on providing outsourcing services to hotels? Are there any challenges that parties may face while providing services or using an outsourcing company?

Working with various hotels of different sizes, brands, cultures, and locations have been an exciting journey for all of us at Stelloire. With each unique hotel, we take the time and effort to thoroughly learn the needs of each property, their marketing goals and provide a personalized and tailored service just for them. Often hotels worry that by outsourcing their digital marketing they will lose their brand image due to lack of control. However, it is evident that there are scenarios that outsourcing with us is the best option. As a Hotel Digital Marketing Agency, Stelloire is proud of its exceptional customer service, flexibility and personal touch with every single client. We are here to meet their needs, provide full transparency by maintaining constant communication and establish long-term relationships. Getting digital marketing right is time-consuming and therefore, outsourcing comes in handy as a spare workforce to manage this whilst allowing a hotel to focus on other areas of its business. In the long run, through strategic and careful outsourcing, Stelloire can support a hotel to save time, reduce errors, retain consistency and gain access to skilled expertise in the field of digital marketing and hospitality.

What are the main points that hoteliers need to pay attention to while creating their marketing strategy online or while looking for a digital media company?

While creating a digital marketing strategy, hotelier’s need to plan in a monthly and annual manner and base it on their long-term business goals. First, upcoming holidays, local celebrations and special events need to be emphasized through unique digital marketing campaigns created to drive traffic to a hotel’s page. Second, the digital marketing strategy should align with the needs of a hotel, and support traditional marketing through the means of the digital world. For example, special offers should not only be advertised through print advertising but through social media as well. Third, hoteliers need to devote time, expertise and attention to detail for a successful digital marketing service offering, as there is no room for mistakes in a fast-paced world.
While looking for a digital marketing agency, when it comes to the hospitality world, the knowledge of marketing is not enough. Effectively advertising a hotel is not the same as running marketing campaigns for a fashion or food brand. This is why our in-depth understanding of hotels makes us different. Specializing uniquely in hotels, restaurants, bars and all other hospitality businesses worldwide, we have the education and expertise to transform a hotel’s online brand image and meet its demands. We know that a hotel’s number one goal is to increase direct bookings and through tailor-made marketing strategies, we reach their target audiences, distinguish them from the competition and create a hotel’s luxury story online.